AEP Ohio gives more power to customers to control electricity use

Mark Williams The Columbus Dispatch @BizMarkWilliams

Friday

Nov 9, 2018 at 4:55 PMNov 9, 2018 at 4:55 PM

AEP Ohio has introduced a smart-phone app and other new devices meant to give customers more control over how they use electricity. The devices, among other things, give customers real-time data on electricity use.

For electricity consumers who want to know more about how they use power in their homes, the monthly bill is more frustrating than helpful.

Sure, the bill tells how much electricity was used and the cost, but beyond that there isn't much useful information. How much electricity did the refrigerator use? How does weather affect air-conditioning use? Can electricity use be monitored more frequently than the monthly bill?

Now American Electric Power Ohio has new tools built around a smart-phone app called It's Your Power that is a start in that direction.

Best of all, for customers: The service and the hardware are free.

"What we hear from customers is that they want more information about their energy use and how they can be better educated," said David Tabata, AEP Ohio's energy efficiency and consumer programs manager.

The key is the Energy Bridge, a small, square device that acts as the hub in a home, allowing for the control and automation of so-called smart bulbs, switches and sensors. To make it work, customers will need a home that is equipped with a smart meter that the company is rolling out to its 1.5 million customers.

AEP customers can get the Energy Bridge free of charge, in addition to a thermostat worth $150 that they can control remotely. In a sense, customers have already paid for the devices from their rates.

Other utilities offer similar kinds of devices or consumers can buy products in stores. What makes AEP's devices different is that customers can use the app to track in real-time, minute-by-minute, their electricity use.

The coffee maker goes off at 6 a.m. and the app will show a spike in demand for electricity. Same thing when the big dining room light with several bulbs comes on. Conversely, demand drops when the appliances are turned off.

"Now utilities can partner with their customers," said Patty Durand, president and CEO of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative, a nonprofit that works to learn the energy wants and needs of consumers. "They can offer more information. Consumers can be empowered and decide and look at this information."

Consumers interested in this technology want to save money on their bills and reduce their energy footprint, she said.

She acknowledged the frustration many customers have over their bill.

"People get a bill once a month and they don't know what it means," she said. "They spend $100 and don't know if they spent it on lighting, cooking, heating — those are the big ones — or appliances."

The idea of giving consumers more control over how and when they used electricity was a focal point of a report issued in August by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The report, called "Power Forward: A Roadmap to Ohio's Electricity Future," is meant to be a guide about how Ohio's system of distributing electricity could be improved through innovation. Part of that is giving consumers more control over how they use electricity and the ability to lower monthly bills.

AEP is the first big utility in the state to begin deploying the technology in a big way, according to the PUCO. Other utilities are expected to follow suit.

Beyond giving customers real-time information about their use of power, customers can use the app to set an electricity budget and then track their performance, look at historical usage and even get a customized profile to help them become more energy efficient.

During a hot summer day when demand for power peaks, AEP can raise the thermostat by 2 or 3 degrees for a few hours in a customer's house, with the customer's permission.

Eventually, the devices will be able to monitor the health of home appliances.

So far, about 20,000 customers have downloaded the app, about 6,000 customers have gotten a bridge and about 1,000 customers have taken a new thermostat.

AEP said the tools will reduce electricity consumption. By how much is unclear at this point since consumers are just starting to download the apps and install the bridge.

Deployment has just started and it will take time to collect and analyze data and see how consumption stacks up in a business where weather swings can have a big effect on consumption.

"The ship is turning," Durand said. "Utilities are working harder to partner with customers, to engage customers and power them with tools."

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

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